microRNA as a Biomarker in Gastroenterological Cancers

Dear Colleagues,

Gastroenterological cancer (GC) is one of the most leading cause of cancer death worldwide. In spite of improvements for GC therapy, the prognosis of those patients remains poor due to high incidence of recurrence. Better understanding of the pathogenesis during GC development brings effective outcomes for the diagnosis and treatment at early stages. MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are small endogenous non-coding single-stranded RNAs of 18-24 nucleotide-long molecules and modulate various target gene expressions at the post-transcriptional and translational levels. In various human malignancies, aberrant expression of miRNAs is a common and located in cancer associated genomic regions or fragile sites. As for the relationship between miRNAs and GC, several studies have demonstrated that the aberrant expression of specific miRNAs are detected in GC cells and tissues. However, little is known about the mechanisms of miRNA-related cell proliferation and development. Therefore, the finding of miRNAs has expanded our knowledge of the posttranscriptional gene regulation during GC development. Interestingly, more than half of all genes that encode miRNAs are located at fragile sites or in cancer-associated regions of the genome, suggesting the possibility of miRNAs as a diagnostic markers. In this Special Issue, we are looking for articles which deliver a profound insight of potential roles of miRNAs as useful diagnostic and prognostic markers in various GCs.

Prof. Asahiro Morishita
Guest Editor
Prof. Tomoyuki Okumura
Dr. Yohei Shirakami
Co-Guest Editor

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